The present invention relates to electrical timers that are used to activate and/or deactivate electrical devices such as lights. More particularly, the present invention relates to modular electrical timers which interact with one another so as to effect random operation of a plurality of electrical devices, creating the appearance that the devices are not operated automatically.
There presently exists numerous electrical timers which can be plugged into a standard outlet or receptacle and used to control electrical devices such as lights. Such timers are commonly used to turn lights on and off in homes and businesses when no one is on the premises. For example, when people go away on vacation, they often use electrical timers to turn lights in their homes on and off so that it will appear as if someone is home.
One of the problems associated with timers which are used to date is that the timers turn the same lights or other electrical devices on and off at the same time or nearly the same time every night. There are timers which activate lights or other devices on and off at random times. However, such random times are typically within a small preset interval of a selected time setting. For example, there are conventional electrical timers which can be set so that they activate or deactivate electrical devices randomly within a preset interval, e.g. within 15-20 minutes of a preset time. This random operation is suppose to avoid repetitive operation which can be an indication that the controlled electrical devices are in fact controlled by a timer, rather than a present human operator.
Even when using timers which have random intervals of operation, the same electrical devices, e.g. electrical lights, are turned on. Thus, it is not possible to actually operate electrical devices such as electrical lights in a random manner using existing electrical timers.
The present invention provides electrical timers which interact with one another in such a manner to effect random operation of a plurality of electrical devices such as electrical lights.
According to other features, characteristics, embodiments and alternatives of the present invention which will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds below, the present invention provides an electrical activation/timing system having a wide variety of operating parameters.
The present invention further provides a timing system by which a wide variety of electrical devices arranged at different locations can be selectively activate on a seemingly random basis.
The present invention further provides a full programmable activation system for electrical devices using a plurality of separate, independent activation devices.
The present invention also provides electrical timers which interact with one another in such a manner to effect random operation of a plurality of electrical devices such as electrical lights.